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A ‘win or nothing’ summer, injury updates & other takeaways from Bruins breakup day
"They’re willing to do anything to win. And that was a clear message today."
The Boston Bruins packed up their bags and prepared for a long offseason on Thursday during the team’s breakup day at Warrior Ice Arena.
Several topics were addressed, including Jeremy Swayman’s reflection on a lost season, Charlie McAvoy’s 4 Nations experience, David Pastrnak’s leadership, and Joe Sacco’s future.
But there were plenty of other things to parse through, including upcoming contract talks, injuries, and the expectations for a busy summer.
Here are four other takeaways from Thursday’s breakup day.
High expectations this summer
Despite closing out the 2024-25 season with the fifth-worst record in the NHL, Boston’s top brass has largely pushed back against the assertion that this flawed roster is bracing for a lengthy rebuild in the years ahead.
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“We didn’t burn it down,” Don Sweeney said on March 8. “We have a lot of guys. Now a couple of those guys in particular are injured that are big, big players and pieces for our group. Now we have to do a better job of building around it and charting the course that says we’re back. And that’s the job.”
“When I think of a rebuild, I think of somebody sort of hitting that proverbial Looney Tunes [TNT plunger], ‘Let’s blow this up and start over.’ And I don’t think we’re there,” Charlie Jacobs told The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
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That sentiment was clearly broadcast to the players as well ahead of the summer.
Even with Boston mired near the bottom of the NHL standings, Nikita Zadorov stressed that the Bruins will remain a premier destination for free agents and other top players in the coming years.
“Why would they not want to come here? I mean, it’s an Original Six team. It’s a great city to play in. We have one of the best players in the world. We have one of the best goalies in the world. We have two really good defensemen who were out pretty much for a whole year,” Zadorov said of a potential pitch for the Bruins. “We have all the pieces for the future.
“We just need to add it up. We have a breakout player of the year, probably [in Morgan Geekie]. So, I mean, it’s a great organization, great management, great leadership up top. You know, we have a great president, great general manager. They’re willing to do anything to win.
“And that was a clear message today. So I think it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be an exciting summer, and it’s going to be exciting for us to see our new teammates, whoever is going to come and join us.”
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Even with the various vacancies across the depth chart, the Bruins do have a hefty portion of cap space ($28.8 million) available this summer to build up the team — while an influx of draft picks offers the hope that affordable, impactful talent could arriving in the coming years.
It remains to be seen what the Bruins do to try and right the ship this offseason.
But given the current window that the Bruins are in with key players in their prime, Zadorov doesn’t expect Boston to remain complacent over the offseason.
“I mean, what — are they going to be wasting Pasta’s years? I mean, I don’t have many years left,” Zadorov said. “Both Lindys [Hampus and Elias Lindholm] C-Mac [Charlie McAvoy]. So obviously, it’s a win or nothing in here.”
Injury updates
The 2024-25 season was a lost year for Hampus Lindholm, who only appeared in 17 total games after a puck struck him in the knee — fracturing his patella on Nov. 12.
It was a massive blow for the Bruins and Lindholm, who was arguably Boston’s most impactful skater over the first six weeks of the season.
Initially, Lindholm was working his way back to game action — even skating with the team in late February in hopes of serving as part of much-needed reinforcements for the stretch run.
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But Lindholm ultimately suffered a setback in his recovery, with the 31-year-old defenseman ultimately going under the knife again to correct a nagging issue.
Despite the optics of having to undergo another procedure on his knee, Lindholm stressed that the initial injury was not as severe as initially expected, with his setback the result of him rushing back too soon — rather than a sign of more serious injury affecting his kneecap.
As concerning as any injury is, Lindholm stressed that he will be a full-go for training camp.
“I had some luck within the bad luck when I got my fracture in my knee, like everything kind of stayed intact, so there’s no long-term worries for my injury,” Lindholm said. “And that kind of maybe led to coming back a little too early, pushing a little too hard on the ice, a little too early, which kind of made me take some steps back.
“[They] had to go in and reassess it and take out, like a little piece that was kind of bugging me from kind of coming back a little too early, and frustrating, because I want to be out there and helping the team. But that was what the team and doctors and I decided for what was best for the long term. … All I can control is getting back to my full self, and I know I will, so just taking it day by day and taking those steps. And I’m back in the gym, working out, doing full body already, and going to start skating, I think, in mid-May.”
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Even though McAvoy acknowledged that he only just got off his antibiotics regimen last week following his hospital stay at Mass General, the Bruins defenseman stressed that he expects to be a full go for training camp once his AC joint injury in his right shoulder is fully healed.
“We weren’t cleared yet, but we were getting there,” McAvoy said of his health status in April. “I’m in a really good spot now, or at least I will be. I have no restrictions this summer. I have no limitations on anything, which allows me to have a big summer, which I’m really excited about.”
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Mark Kastelic — who did not play in a game after March 20 — acknowledged Thursday that he was dealing with post-concussion symptoms over the final stretch of the regular season.
His injury woes started in January after he was cross-checked in the head by Tampa Bay skater Emil Lilleberg. He only played 18 games for the remainder of the season, scoring two points over that stretch.
Prior to that injury, Kastelic was one of the few bright spots on Boston’s roster — posting 12 points over his first 42 games while injecting plenty of speed and snarl onto the team’s fourth line.
“I’ve been dealing with just the lingering symptoms of the first concussion I’ve had, and that’s been a bit of a process to kind of try to get over that hump,” Kastelic said. “I think the last week, I felt like myself again, which is a great sign. … Just on a day to day basis, a lot happier, which is how I’m feeling. It has been a process, but I’m really happy.
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“It’s unfortunate that there’s not more games to play, and I feel like I could be potentially coming back pretty soon here, but I got four months to really just let everything heal and recover and I think next year it’ll just be forgotten about, and be so far in the past that hopefully just move forward from it.”
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The 2024-25 season didn’t go according to plan for Elias Lindolm, with the 30-year-old forward closing out the year with just 47 points over 82 games.
Boston’s top free-agent pickup was playing catch up from the start of the season, as he missed a majority of training camp due to a nagging injury.
Speaking on Thursday, Lindholm said that he was dealing with a back injury that first flared up in early August.
“I had some back problems, which I haven’t had stuff like that — where you couldn’t work out or or skate,” Lindholm said. “So it was, I just felt I was behind. So it was not an ideal injury.”
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Pavel Zacha played in all 82 games for the Bruins this season, but the 28-year-old forward revealed that he was dealing with a nagging knee injury down the stretch that will need to be treated this offseason — although he added that he doesn’t believe he’ll need surgery.
“I have to stay here for a little bit to do some stuff with my knee and all these are lower body areas that we have to fix a little bit after the season, but it’s nothing major and I should be good to go,” Zacha said.
Geekie is hoping to return
While the main focus for the Bruins this offseason will be to add talent, the team also needs to retain its top breakout player in Morgan Geekie.
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The 26-year-old forward is due a sizable pay raise as a restricted free agent — especially after scoring a career-best 33 goals while skating on a line with David Pastrnak.
Once projected to be a bottom-six contributor, Geekie became the first Boston skater not named Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand or David Pastrnak to light the lamp 30+ times since Loui Eriksson scored 30 in 2015-16.
Boston does have the ability to go to arbitration with Geekie if both parties can’t agree to a new deal, although the forward hopes that scenario doesn’t play out.
“Well, we hope it doesn’t come to that,” Geekie said of arbitration. “Obviously, nobody wants to go to arbitration, and it’s not a fun time for anybody. I’m going to prepare like I’m going to be at training camp day one and it’s not something I’m going to give too much thought about.
“I’ll leave it up to my agent and Don and Cam [Neely] and just go about my business, and things will play out the way they’re going to play out. I love playing in Boston. My family loves it here. It’s one of those things that I really hope works out and we’ll just see where it goes.”
It remains to be seen what Geekie’s final payout will be — given both his breakout offensive surge as well as a surging salary cap that reset the parameters of the market moving forward.
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After signing a two-year, $4 million contract on July 1 2023, Geekie could command a cap hit over $5 million moving forward on a long-term deal.
Beyond Geekie, the Bruins have several other free agents to address this offseason. Forwards John Beecher, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Jakub Lauko will also become RFAs, while Cole Koepke is an unrestricted free agent. On the blue line, both Parker Wotherspoon and Henri Jokiharju are UFAs, while Mason Lohrei is due a new deal as an RFA.
“I’m not going to talk about [contract talks], but something’s going to happen this summer,” Lohrei said. “I really love playing here. I love the fans. It’s an A+ organization. I can’t wait for the future.”
More reps for Korpisalo?
Jeremy Swayman might be Boston’s No. 1 netminder for the foreseeable future.
But after appearing in just 27 games in his first season with Boston, backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo acknowledged that he’d like to log a few more reps moving forward.
“I don’t think there’s any goalie in the league who’s really comfortable playing 20 to 25 games,” Korpisalo said. “So I’m going to push for more games, for sure, and we’ll see what happens. I’ll do my best, and we’ll see.”
Korpisalo — who went 11-10-3 with an .893 save percentage with Boston — is signed for the next three seasons with a $3 million annual cap hit on Boston’s books.
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“I was pretty open when I got into the season,” Korpisalo said of his reps on a depth chart with Swayman. “And always, you just try to put everything you have out there, make your mark to gain some playing time, but you just do what’s best for you every day, and try your best and work hard, and that way you might earn some more playing time.
“But you know, it’s not, sometimes not up to me, who’s going to play more. And whatever role it is, you do the best you can in that role.”
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